Mineralogy & crystallography: on the history of these sciences from beginnings through 1919 / Минералогия и кристаллография. История науки до 1919 г.

The purpose of the present text is to provide a concise survey of the history of mineralogy and crystallography through the year 1919. Hopefully, it reflects this rich area of study showing the development of these important scientific endeavors from simple origins through a maturity, which today some might regard as no more than technical art. This is mirrored in the fact that few people now would claim mineralogy as a science balanced on the edge of significant discovery, but that was not the case in the past. Then, mineralogy and its companion study crystallography, were important investigations with each new discovery being widely publicized and debated. Many researchers, some of whom may be counted among the greatest geniuses of the human race, explored, contemplated, and wrote about minerals and crystals. This history tries in some measure to spotlight these people and their discoveries. It is also written as a companion work to Mineralogy and Crystallography: A Biobibliography, which fully describes many of the books relevant to these studies across the same time period <...>